2020 Social Media Image Sizes
Known in our office as the “backyard barbeque” of social media because it is a place to connect with friends and family, images on Facebook are best received if they feature images of real people, aren’t always over-produced, and feel authentic. The “noisy bar” of social media, Twitter is fast-paced and actioned-packed with conversations flying from every which way. Images on Twitter need to convey …
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Social Media Management for Sacramento Small Businesses—On a Budget
If you’re a small business owner in Sacramento, social media management may be one of the last things on your mind, but it shouldn’t be! With shelter-in-place regulations enforced throughout the state, you better believe the community you traditionally serve in-person, is online …
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2020 Hashtag Holiday Calendar for Sacramento Marketers
Are you a marketer in Sacramento, CA? Behold, the biggest social media hashtag calendar featuring all of Sacramento’s biggest events you’ve always wanted. Do you have a Sacramento-specific event that you think we should add to the calendar? Thanks to all of these folks for their hard work on compiling all of these dates! We definitely would have had …
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Finding Sacramento’s Brand: An Outsider’s Perspective
When I moved to Sacramento, California two years ago, I certainly knew what a brand was but I didn’t know what Sacramento’s brand was. Being the state capital, you really get a feel for the city and state. Here, the biggest influencers in the state come to live and work. The state leaders come to the capital seeking change and improvement in their own …
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Brand Management For Sacramento Freelancers
As a dedicated member of the Uptown Studios Marketing team, I am constantly preaching the importance of proper brand management to our clients. “You need a style guide,” is my go-to. Then, “You need a consistent brand voice!” And so on and so on. Marketing encapsulates so many different facets of the digital world; social media, websites, graphic design …
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How Copywriting & Graphic Design Work Hand-In-Hand In A Design Agency
Copywriting is writing the words for an ad. Seems simple enough, right? However, when people ask me what I do for a living and I say, “I’m a copywriter!” They think I mean I’m responsible for creating this symbol: ©. In short, I’m responsible for the words, folks. Like all of them, anywhere, for any reason …
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ADA Compliance for Websites – Top 5 Bonehead Moves to Avoid when Writing your Content
You guys, it is so expensive to take a site that does not meet ADA Compliance (WCAG 2.1 AA compliance) and bring it up to code. And it is so boring. I really don’t like doing it. So, I want to help you out, and also help me out, by giving you some tips on writing the content for your website …
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A Marketing Strategy that Creates Change
A social marketing strategy has the power to change the world for the better. Sounds a bit cliche, I know! But really, y’all it’s tried and true. From public health initiatives to reducing our impact on the environment, social marketing strategies have become powerful tools used by agents of change, like the team at Uptown Studios …
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A Note From Tina Reynolds Regarding The Coronavirus
Last week, Uptown Studios made the decision for our teams to work remotely due to the coronavirus. While the decision is a bit of a challenge, our team is highly motivated to stay on your projects and turn them around quickly and efficiently. We are all available to you through a Google Hangout or Zoom meeting …
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5 Tips for Great Video Calls When You’re Working From Home
Google has rolled out free access to our advanced Hangouts Meet video conferencing capabilities to all G Suite customers globally until July 1, 2020 so businesses can work from home. Uptown Studios full crew is working remotely – we are rotating three people in the studio Monday through Friday so they will be there to answer the phones …
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5 Big Reasons Video is Important to Marketing Your Business
Video has become a standard in all marketing. It has been steadily growing to become one of the main vehicles for sending out your messages and video should be one of your go-to tools for marketing fun, information and strategy. Video is versatile and relatively easy these days so read on as we explain some of the “why’s.” …
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Getting Out of Your Comfort Zone With Human-Centered Design
Human-Centered Design (HCD) has changed the way I think. Four years ago, Uptown Studios took on training in HCD as a process to better develop campaigns for our client base. In creating empathy for the end-user, not always just the clients, we are better equipped to achieve all the goals set for a project. All of the Uptown Studios teams are …
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Full-Service Branding: Refresh vs. Rebrand
Clients often wonder what designers mean when we recommend a full-service branding refresh or a rebrand of their personal or corporate brand. It does get a little confusing even during the process of a rebrand or refresh, so this blog was created to clear up some of the confusion …
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10 Tips For Basic Photo Editing In Photoshop
As a part of projects, I am often tasked with editing photos. There are plenty of really silly and fun things you can do with Photoshop’s editing tools, but I thought a good old fashioned list of things that would actually improve the average photo might be helpful to share! Below is a list of my top ten tips for basic photo editing in Photoshop …
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How A Design Thinking Focus Group Will Fix Your Target-Market Woes
Not sure if design thinking focus groups are right for you? If you’re putting your heart and soul into your business, but your marketing is falling flat, you may need to reconsider. No one is hearing you. What makes you different from dozens of other businesses? Have you asked your audience? Maybe it’s time you …
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Google Grants Management For Nonprofits
Google Grants management is a powerful tool created to help nonprofits fundraise, market, and manage digital advertising goals. If you are interested in applying for Google Grants, then this is the blog for you. Reason for this blog post: Inform nonprofits how to be eligible for Google Grants and to successfully manage …
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Building an Accessible Digital Color Palette, Part 1
Start with Selecting your Greys from Dark to Light A good starting place to build an accessible digital color palette is to determine the shades of grey or neutrals for your palette. Select grey values that look different enough from one another to suggest primary, secondary, or tertiary status–and also pass accessibility guidelines.
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Building An Accessible Digital Color Palette, Part 2
The Color Factor Accessible digital color is a huge factor affecting how we interpret the world around us, and it’s especially true for websites and digital products here at Uptown Studios. As designers, color helps us make decisions and understand the meaning of the content. Ever since we were young, we have been trained to …
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